Vampires. It gets funnier every time I hear it.

Okay, I borrowed that line from Supernatural's Dean Winchester, but it does make a point. The world is vampire crazy right now, especially thanks to Twilight and True Blood. Why do we need another vampire show? Because when it comes to the blood-sucking creatures, the stories are endless. The Vampire Diaries, a new series on The CW making its debut Thursday at 8 pm, is based on the series of novels by L.J. Smith that came out starting in 1991, long before Twilight or True Blood.

Elena, a 17-year-old high school student, is starting to readjust to life again in Mystic Falls, Virginia after the death or her parents. She is taken with the new kid in town, Stefan Salvatore, and they are instantly drawn to one another. Oh, but he happens to be a vampire. What’s worse is Stefan’s brother Damon has followed him to town and this dude is evil. That sets up an intriguing little war between a good and an evil brother for not only Elena’s soul, but the souls of everyone in town.

"Any great vampire story is at the center an epic, beautiful sweeping love story," said executive producer Julie Plec at this summer’s Comic-Con during a roundtable press session. "Two people who have no reason to be together and yet fit so perfectly with each other."